Everybody's Fool
by Spoongirl1
Summary: She was the kind of girl who crawled under your skin and stayed there, even with a single glance. How do you get over a woman like that? HanOC
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own anyone from any of the Fast and the Furious films. Mackenzie Darrow is my creation, so don't steal her please.

A/N: I'm back, y'alls. I know it's been a really long-ass wait and for that I am ever so sorry. I took a while to work through this new version of Everybody's Fool, but now the plot is up and raring to go, so I hope to have more updates soon. The storyline is going to be significantly different from the original EF, but some details are gonna stay the same, so see if you can spot 'em.

Feedback: If you read, please review.

* * *

**10 Years Earlier:**

**Barstow, California:**

Han carefully pulled into one of the empty spots in the row of cars and then undid his seatbelt and slid out, into the warm California air. He scanned the groups of racers, who were standing around, looking for a familiar face.

Spotting Rome standing just off to the side of a group of exceptionally fine girls, he quickly crossed over to his friend's side, almost running into the tiny girl who was walking in the same direction.

"Wanna try watching where you're going?" the girl spat, fire dancing in her brownish-black eyes.

Han looked down at the girl, who barely came up to his shoulder, in surprise.

"Aren't you a little young to be here, sweetheart?"

"Bite me."

Han was even more surprised when Rome came over to them and wrapped a protective arm around the girl.

"You mindin' your manners, Mac?"

The girl rolled her eyes and scowled at Han. "I would be, if this guy wasn't such an idiot."

Rome laughed, flashing even white teeth and extended his free hand to Han.

"How's it goin' man? I see that you've met Mac."

Han slapped Rome's hand and then looked back at the girl, who was now blowing huge, neon blue bubbles with her gum.

"Robbing the cradle again, Rome?"

"Nah man. This is my friend Brian's little sister. She's a grade-A race junkie, but he doesn't want her having anything to do with the racers. So, I promised her I'd take her to a race or two, if she promised to stay on her best behavior."

Mac rolled her eyes and elbowed Rome in the side. "No, you promised to take me to a race, in exchange for me not telling Brian about you and Monique."

"Monique, man? That's low."

Rome growled and glared at Mac, who was giggling. "And if you ever want me to bring you to the races again, you're gonna shut up now."

Mac stopped giggling and batted her long eyelashes at Rome. "I'll be good."

"Like hell you will." He leaned closer to Han and dropped his voice so Mac couldn't hear him. "Listen man, can you do me a favor? I'm racing in the next set and I don't really trust Mac on her own. As you can tell, the kids got a mouth on her. So will you keep an eye on her for me?"

Han eyed the petite girl, who glared back at him and then nodded. "Yeah, but you're gonna owe me big time for this."

"A'ight. Mac, I'm gonna go get ready for the set, but Han's gonna chill with you. You cool with that?"

"If by getting ready for the next set, you mean you're gonna go get a blow job from that race rat who was eyeing you earlier, yeah I'm cool."

Rome growled again and shook a warning finger at the girl, before heading off in the direction of his car.

* * *

Mac giggled and then cracked her gum, her eyes sizing Han up.

"So, how'd you know Rome?"

"We had some classes in school together."

"Didn't know Rome actually went to class."

"Sometimes. So how do you know him?"

"My brother's been best friends with him since they were kids. He calls me his honorary lil'sis. As if I really need two brothers. Ones enough for me."

Han laughed. "You're something, kid. You know that?"

"Mmm-hmm. So do you race?"

"Straight to the point with you, huh?"

Mac rolled her eyes again and placed her hands on her hips, trying to look tough.

"Okay look. I'm not like most of the girls here. I'm interested in cars and only cars. I don't wanna spend my time trying to get in some guys pants, 'cause I think it'll get me recognition. If I'm gonna have anything to do with the race world, it'll be as a racer, nothin' else."

Han laughed again and wrapped a friendly arm around Mac's shoulders.

"I understand. You're pretty smart for someone so young."

Mac scowled at him, but she didn't try to remove his arm from around her shoulders.

"I'm not that young. I turned thirteen four months ago."

"Well, you are educated in the ways of the world, aren't you?"

"Bite me, cowboy." She shrugged his arm off and started to walk away, but Han caught her by the wrist and pulled her back.

"C'mon, don't do that. I'm not being fair."

If looks could kill, he would have been dead on the spot. "No shit."

He held up his hands in defense. "Okay, look. I was being an ass, but can we start over? I promise I won't treat you like a kid."

Mac frowned, but her tense posture softened and she uncrossed her arms. "All right. You get one more chance. But if you piss me off again, I'm leaving and if I turn up dead and mutilated, it'll be _your_ fault, okay?"

"Okay."

Mac smiled slightly at him and then grabbed his hand, pulling him in the direction of the starting line. "C'mon, let's go watch Rome race."

* * *

A/N: Okay, short start. The first few chapters are gonna be flashback and then the actual storyline is gonna start up. I really liked Han in Tokyo Drift and decided that I wanted to work him into the story, so he gets a little back-story involving Mac, Rome and Dom's gang. Just as a heads-up though, this fic isn't going to follow the events of Tokyo Drift exactly, as Han isn't going to die, so if you don't like that idea, don't bother reading.

Reviews are appreciated, people, so please give one!


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anyone from the Fast and the Furious films.

**A/N:** Thanks to AnaDry, crzywhtgrl and Brian for reviewing. Seeing as how I've apparently been added into the Tokyo Drift C2 archive (much appreciated, but next time ask please) I'd like to take the time to clear up a small misconception about my fic. Even though it will involve characters from _Tokyo Drift_, it isn't set in the film timeline, is not set in Tokyo and really has nothing to do with drifting. Most of the characters in this fic will be from the first two films (with the exception of Han, Twinkie and Sean) and any flashback scenes are largely going to be about Han's life, before he went to Tokyo.

So sorry to anyone who thought this was a _Tokyo Drift_ fanfic, because it's not really.

**Feedback: **If you read, please review.

* * *

**1 year later:**

"So you really have to leave?"

Han smiled at Mac and slid an arm around her shoulders.

"If I'm going to improve my racing, I've got to go to where the real racers are. And you've got to face it; there really aren't many good racers around here."

Mac frowned and then hugged him tightly.

"Promise you'll come back sometimes?" she mumbled into his chest.

He stroked her hair and hugged her back.

"Promise. And you can call me anytime. You've got my cell number, so if you need something, just call."

She let go of him, but kept her head down, her hair covering her face. "Okay."

"Hey. C'mon now. No crying, okay? I'm not going too far."

Mac sniffled, but quickly wiped her eyes off.

"I'm not crying."

"Of course you're not."

Giving her one last hug, he slid into his car and pulled away, leaving Mac standing behind on the curb.

* * *

**1 year later:**

Han rolled over on his unmade bed, his eyes blinking sleepily as he tried to figure out what had woken him up.

The noise came again and he finally registered that it was his cellphone ringing.

He fumbled around for another minute, trying to find it, before his fingers connected with the small object and he lifted it to his ear.

"Hello?"

There was a pause on the other end of the line and he could hear crashing sounds in the background, like furniture being thrown and then a voice whispered.

"Han?"

"Mac? Is that you?"

There was another pause and then Mac spoke again. Her voice so quiet he had to strain to hear her.

"Um yeah, it's me. I'm really sorry for calling so late... or early I guess..."

"It's okay. What's going on?"

"Um, d'you think... maybe... I could, um, maybe, come stay with you for a few days?"

There was a shout and then the sound of something smashing.

"Mac, what's going on?"

Mac's voice was shaky and it sounded like she was on the verge of tears. "Kelly left. She said she couldn't take it anymore. And he's been drinking a lot lately. I-I just can't stay here. I would've called someone else, but there is no one."

"No. No, it's okay. You can definitely crash at my place. When do you want me to come get you?"

"Is this afternoon too early?" There was hesitation in her voice, like she expected to him to start telling her off.

"No, don't worry, it's not. I'll come get you this afternoon."

"Thanks. I-I can also call someone else though. I mean, I don't want to be a burden..."

Han sighed and raked his fingers through his hair. "Mac, you're not a burden. I said to call me if you needed anything and so far you haven't ever asked much of me, so it's okay."

"T-thanks..."

"I'll be there soon, okay? Just hang on for a little while longer."

"Okay..."

They made their good-byes and then Han flopped back down onto his bed. He'd have to go talk to Dom in the morning to see about letting Mac use the other spare room in the garage.

* * *

When Han pulled up at Mac's house, she was already sitting on the steps, with a small duffle bag beside her. The day was cloudy, but incredibly warm, but for some reason Mac was wearing dark sunglasses and a sweatshirt, which she had done up all the way to her neck.

She smiled when she saw him, but then winced and brought her fingers to her lip, which had a small scab on it.

"You okay?"

"Uh-huh. Just glad to be going."

"Well, let's get your stuff and then we'll leave."

Mac gestured to the duffle bag and her backpack, which was slung over one shoulder. "This is it."

"That's all?"

She shrugged. "It's all I've got."

Han was confused by this, but decided to ignore it.

"Okay. Let's go then."

They crossed over to his car and Mac let out a small gasp, when she got a closer look at it her hands danced reverently over the hood and custom paint job and she knelt down to inspect the wheels and undercarriage.

"This is yours?"

"Yeah. I won it at a race a few weeks back."

"Wow. That is so cool. You must be getting really good."

Han shrugged, trying to play it off, but secretly her compliment pleased him.

"So I talked to my friend, the one who's place I've been staying at and he's cool if you borrow his other spare room, but he has one condition for you."

Behind the glasses, Mac eyed him warily.

"And what's that?"

"That you work in his garage. I told him how much you know about cars and he said he would pay you to work for him for the summer. With some fees deducted for food and board, of course."

Mac's face lit up and she threw her arms around him, hugging him tightly.

"Really? I get to work in a professional garage and get paid to do it? Thank you so much!"

"You should really be thanking Dom. He's the one who's hiring you."

"But you set it all up. That was so cool of you."

"Well, if you want to start working, we should get going, so you're not late for your first day of work tomorrow."

Han picked up Mac's duffle bag and tossed it into the backseat, before opening the passenger door for her.

* * *

"Can we just make one stop before we leave?"

"Sure, where do you want to go?"

"Uh, I've got to say good-bye to someone. Rome had to leave about six months back and I promised him I'd look out for his younger brother, Twinkie. But I just wanna say good-bye to him, so he doesn't think I'm running out on him too."

"All right. Where can we find him?"

"Probably at the courts. The kid's short as hell, but he still thinks he's going to be the next Michael Jordan."

They pulled up to the basketball courts and Mac pointed to a small boy who had an impressive 'fro and was wearing an oversized jersey.

"That's him."

The boy spotted her and ran over, his shorts threatening to fall off his small frame with every step he took.

"Mac. What's up?"

"Hey Twink. Listen, I just stopped by to let you know that I've got to leave for a little while. I'm going to L.A. for the summer."

Twinkie's face fell. "Why? How come you gotta go to L.A.?"

Mac hugged him and then ruffled his 'fro.

"It's for reasons I can't really explain right now, little man. But I'll call you every week okay? Make sure you're doing all right?"

The smaller boy puffed his chest out and adopted a gangster stance. "Of course I'ma be doing all right. I can look out for myself."

"Sure you can. I'll see you around, Twink."

The boy impulsively threw his arms around Mac and squeezed her middle tightly.

"I'm gonna miss you."

"I know. Me too. But I've gotta go, okay?"

"'Kay."

Mac climbed back into the car and waved good-bye through the window, as they pulled away.

"Cute kid."

"Yeah, but I've got a feeling that he's gonna grow up to be a hustler, just like his brother."

* * *

"How can you see with those things on?"

They had stopped for lunch and Mac still had her sunglasses on, even though they were indoors.

She shrugged in response and picked nervously at her fries.

"Seriously, Mac, why are you wearing them?"

All Han got for an answer was another shrug and dead silence, so he leaned across the table and pulled the glasses off.

Mac jerked back and then ducked her head, letting her hair fall into her eyes, but not before Han saw the large purple bruise surrounding her left eye.

"Jesus, Mac. When did this happen?"

"Y-yesterday."

"Your dad did this then?"

She nodded, but kept staring at her hands.

"How long has this been going on?"

Mac's lower lip quivered and a few small tears slid down her cheeks.

"Since Kelly left."

"Why didn't you call me sooner?"

"B-because I didn't want to bother you."

Han crossed over to the other side of the booth and slid in beside Mac, wrapping his arms around her.

"Mac, look at me."

There were still tears in her eyes when she looked up at him and he brushed them away with his hand.

"You are never going to be a bother to me, all right? If I thought you were, I wouldn't have told Rome I'd look out for you."

"That was two years go. And it was only supposed to be for an hour or so."

"Says who?"

He pulled her closer into his embrace and she let her head fall to his shoulder.

"I'm telling you this now, so I never expect to have to repeat myself, okay? You're never going to be any kind of trouble for me and if you ever, and I mean ever, need anything at all, you should never hesitate to call me, no matter where I am, okay?"

Mac nodded, her tears stopping. "Okay."

"Now, is there anything else you want to tell me?"

He looked pointedly at her sweatshirt, which was still done up and pulled closely around her.

"Only if you promise you won't freak out."

Mac sounded childish, but catching the look on her face, Han knew she was serious.

"All right. I promise."

Scooting back into the booth, Mac carefully undid the sweatshirt and slipped it off, revealing many finger-sized bruises running along her arms and shoulders.

Han sucked in a breath, when he saw the damage that had been done to her small body, but he fought the urge to track down Mac's father and kill him in cold blood.

"Do they still hurt?"

She shook her head and then pressed down on one of the bruises with her index finger.

"No. They only hurt if you poke them."

"Well, don't do that."

Mac grinned at him and then leaned over and hugged him tightly.

"What was that for?"

She shrugged, still grinning. "I don't know. I'm just really happy, all of a sudden..."

* * *

**1 year later: **(A/N: last time, I promise!)

Han quickly threw clothes into his bag, trying to ignore the throbbing pain in his left hand, whose knuckles were still bleeding.

He heart was racing and he could hear his pulse pounding in his ears, but he couldn't stop. He needed to get out of the country fast, before the authorities caught up with him.

"So, you're leaving again?"

The light in the hall behind her highlighted all the new curves she'd seemed to have grown over night, as Mac stood in the doorway, rubbing her eyes sleepily.

When she saw the state of his hands and face, she swore softly and stepped further into the room. Taking his hand in her own, she inspected it carefully and then began pulling him in the direction of the garage's bathroom.

"Mac, I really don't have time..."

"Han, I'm not gonna ask you any questions, but if you show up at the airport like this, the authorities there probably will and I think that's the last thing you want right now. So sit still, shut up and let me clean this."

Her long black hair tickled his skin, as she carefully cleaned off and then bandaged his hands. Grabbing a wet cloth from the sink, she wiped off the blood that was caked on his temple and then covered the shallow cut with a band-aid. Her small fingers gently probed the already-forming bruise under his eye and she let out a low hiss.

"This doesn't look like it's going to swell, but it'll probably be a nice shade of purple by tomorrow."

Han nodded, his attention more focused on the golden skin that was revealed by the very short pajamas she'd worn to bed. His eyes trailed up her long legs, but then he snapped back to reality and silently berated himself.

_C'mon man, you shouldn't be looking at her like that. She's only sixteen for Christ sakes. She should be dating guys her own age, not guys like me._

"So, where are you going this time?"

"Uh, Tokyo."

"Yeah? Why there?"

"Because they've got this new thing called drifting going on over there and I want to check it out."

Mac nodded and then swept her hair off her shoulders, pulling it back into a low ponytail.

"Sounds cool. So am I ever going to hear from you again or are you just going to disappear and the next thing I'll be reading an article about how you're some big-shot racer over there?"

"Nah. It won't be like that."

"So, you're gonna disappear and then I'll read an article about how badly you've lost to everyone over there?"

Han mock-scowled at her. "C'mon now."

"Kidding. I'm kidding. But am I ever going to hear from you again?"

He thought about it for a moment and then nodded slightly.

"Tell you what. When you turn eighteen and are done with school, if I'm not back, then you can come out to Tokyo. I'll save a place at my garage for you."

"What garage?"

"The garage I'm going to own by then."

Mac smiled, but he could tell she was sad to see him go. "Okay. But you should leave now, before the cops show up."

Han pressed a kiss to her cheek and then ran to get his stuff. He was about to leave when he suddenly turned back and tossed Mac a set of keys.

She caught them and inspected them carefully.

"What's this?"

"Call it a late birthday present."

"You're giving me _your_ car?"

"Well, I can't take it with me, so yeah. I expect you to take good care of her while I'm gone."

Mac was speechless as she looked at the keys again. "Wow... thanks."

"You can pick her up at the airport tomorrow. I kinda need her to get me there right now."

"Okay. I will."

"All right. See you in two years, kid."

"...Bye."

* * *

**Present Day:**

Han came back to reality when he heard Sean ask him a question.

"So why do you drift then?"

Shaking his head to clear the cobwebs of his memories, he grinned slightly.

"C'mon. I'll show you."

* * *

A/N: Okay, nine pages later, I'm done. This deserves some magnanimous reviews people, so no reviews, now new chapter, kapeesh? 


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer:** I do not own any of the characters from any of the Fats and the Furious Films. My original characters are of my creation, so you will not steal them.

**A/N:** Sorry for the hold-up, guys. Kinda got preoccupied with something else and then lost my flow for this story. But now I'm back and ready to write again.

If the opening paragraph seems a bit off from the events in _Tokyo Drift_, it's because I had to re-write the scene so I could have a plausible reason as to how Han survives.

Thankies for the reviews, they are much appreciated!

* * *

**Tokyo, Japan:**

Han stumbled onto the pavement, but his legs wouldn't hold him up and he collapsed onto his back. He'd just been blindsided by another car and had narrowly missed being dragged completely across the road. The driver's side of the car was completely destroyed, but he'd managed to force open the passenger door and make it out onto the ground. Blackness was wavering at the edge of his vision now and he barely registered the loud explosion that occurred when his NOS tanks caught fire and caused the car to blow up. Suddenly, a pair of warm hands were gently touching his face and he heard someone yelling loudly in Japanese. Then everything dimmed and he let his eyes fall shut.

* * *

When his eyes opened again, he was in a sterile white room and all of his clothes were gone, leaving him clad only in a paper-thin gown that gaped uncomfortably open in the back. There was a heavy weight on his right wrist and looking down, he saw it was encased in plaster up to the elbow. The darkened sky outside caused his reflection to shine back at him in the window and he could see he had a large bandage on the left side of his forehead and another on his upper right arm. Suddenly another face appeared behind him in the window and he turned around in surprise.

Dominic Toretto was standing in the doorway to his room, grinning at him like a madman.

"Heard you'd landed yourself in here, Han," he said. "Thought your days of trashing cars were over."

Han grinned back, even though it still sort of hurt and shook his head in disbelief.

"What're you doing here, Dom? I thought you were in L.A."

The big man nodded and ran a hand over his bald scalp.

"Yeah, well I was. But I ran into some trouble there about a year ago and so decided to come out here."

"Well, how did you know about me being in here?"

"Your boy. The Texan or whatever he is. I raced him yesterday and he told me about what happened with you. Thought I'd come by; make sure you were doing a'ight. You've got a lot of people worried about you right now."

Han shrugged. "I never asked them to."

"Family's family, Han. They're always going to worry. Thought I taught you that."

Han nodded, but turned back towards the window so he wasn't looking at Dom anymore.

He didn't mind that the older man had come out to Tokyo, but having him around was bringing back a few things he didn't want to think about.

Dom noticed his friends silence and sighed softly. Stepping further into the room, he pulled a chair up beside Han's bed and sat down in it, as he carefully thought over what he was going to say.

"You haven't heard from her, have you?"

Han shook his head, but kept his eyes trained on the window.

"But you haven't talked to her since she left?"

The younger man closed his eyes and crossed his arms over his chest. When he finally spoke, his voice was quiet and strained sounding.

"I've tried. God knows how many times I've picked up the phone to call her. But I can't. She's moved on and I don't think I should really be coming back into her life, fucking things up for her again."

A heavy, but warm hand rested on his shoulder, but Han shrugged off the comforting touch, preferring to wallow in his own self-inflicted misery.

"You never fucked anything up for her, Han. She came out here on her own. You didn't force her to come. She doesn't blame you for what went down. What she blames you for is just dropping out of her life, without so much a proper goodbye."

"You've seen her then?"

"Yeah. She's helping run the garage right now."

"Is-is she doing okay?"

"Yeah. She's good. Says she prefers the L.A. racing scene to this one, though."

Han opened his eyes and stared at Dom for a second. An unspoken question passed between them and Dom shook his head slightly.

"No. She doesn't talk about you."

* * *

Sean moved away from the door. He'd been intending on visiting Han, but had arrived to find Dom already there. He hadn't intended to eavesdrop on their conversation, but once he'd started listening, he hadn't been able to stop. What he'd heard had just added to the mystery that was Han and he wanted to figure at least this part out. Remembering that Twinkie had been part of Han's crew for a few years, he quickly left the hospital and set about tracking down the other boy.

* * *

It didn't take long for him to track Twinkie down at Han's garage. The other boy was still at work clearing out what remaining items were left after the cops had come through and seized nearly everything.

"Hey, Twinkie. Got a question for you."

The smaller boy eyed him warily for a second, but then nodded for him to continue.

"I went to visit Han today and that guy, Dom was there. They were talking about some girl who Han used to know. Who was she?"

Twinkie sighed and ran a hand over his head, before looking around the garage to make sure no one else would hear him.

"All right man. I'll tell you about her. But you never and I mean never mention this to Han, okay? It's still a touchy subject for him an' I don't think you should be the one to bring it up."

"What's the big deal? It's just a girl."

Twinkie frowned at him and crossed his arms over his chest.

"It's not just _a_ girl, man. It's _the_ girl. C'mon."

Sean followed the other boy up the stairs to Twinkie's "room". Leaning inside, Twinkie pulled a picture off the wall and passed it to Sean. In it was a much younger looking Twinkie, with one of his arms around a pretty Asian girl. From the background, Sean could tell the picture was taken in Han's garage, maybe a few years earlier.

"So?"

Twinkie frowned again and rolled his eyes.

"Her names Mac. She used to be Han's reason for living, up until two years ago."

"What happened then?"

"She got mixed up with the Yakuza. Specifically one of DK's boys."

"What's so bad about that?"

Twinkie glared at his friend, an annoyed look on his face.

"Man, I've told you about the Yakuza. Once you're in with them, you don't get out."

"So why'd she get mixed up with them in the first place then?"

"Wasn't her choice, man. One of them took an interest in her, nevermind that she and Han were exclusively dating back then. She had to leave. It was the only way."

"So why don't she and Han talk anymore, if they were so in love?"

Twinkie's eyes clouded over slightly and a saddened expression came over his features.

"He was supposed to go to the States with her, but he got caught up in his buisness deals. She'd been there for maybe six months when she figured out he wasn't coming. And let me tell you, that was not a fun night when she called. They both yelled for a couple of hours, before she finally hung up on him."

"And he hasn't heard from her since?"

"Nah. Some of us have, but never Han."

Sean nodded slowly and Twinkie seemed to take this as a hint that the conversation was over. He went back downstairs, but Sean remained up by the bunks for a few minutes, studying the face of the girl who Twinkie claimed used to be the love of Han's life.

* * *

A/N: Feedback is lovely, darlings. And without it, no new chapters will arrive!


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: See previous chapters.

* * *

Sean rested his head back against the scratchy synthetic material of his seat and closed his eyes, hoping to get at least a few hours of sleep. The lights on the plane had been dimmed a while ago and most of the passengers had already drifted off, but sleep just wasn't coming to him at the moment.

He heard the rustle of denim against synthetic beside him and cracked his eyes open slightly.

Han shifted slightly in his seat again, his gaze fixed on the dark night-time sky, as his fingers drummed a silent tattoo on his armrest. Sean had never seen the older man this agitated before and he wondered again why Han had agreed to come to L.A. with Dom if he was this nervous about returning to the States.

Almost as if he sensed that someone was watching him, Han turned his intense stare back towards Sean, who quickly let his eyes fall shut, feigning sleep. After a minute or two, the rustling started up again, along with the faint tapping sound of flesh against plastic.

Keeping his eyes closed, Sean turned his thoughts back to Han and Dom's earlier conversation. Dom had said something about this girl, this _Mac_, working at a garage somewhere in the States. Was this what was making Han so tense? Sean mentally shook his head, deciding that even if Twinkie claimed she'd been the love of Han's life, the older man couldn't be that worked up about a girl. He was never serious about girls, they were like disposable playthings to him, not some sort of goddess to be placed on a pedestal and worshipped. This thought stuck in Sean's mind, as things began to grow hazy and he quickly fell asleep.

* * *

It was only ten A.M., but the heat was already pressing down on the crowds at Race Wars like a steamy blanket. Sean wiped some sweat off his forehead and squinted against the brightness.

Suddenly a hazy shape appeared in his field of view and he squinted harder, until the shape began to focus and Twinkie came into view, a dark spot against the brightness that surrounded him on all sides.

"What's up, man?"

"Not much. Just been casing a bit. Found some primo targets."

Sean shot Twinkie an incredulous look and scowled at his friend.

"Man, you're kidding right? You're not planning on pulling that shit here are you?"

Twinkie folded his arms over his chest and frowned back.

"I thought you'd have my back on this. Plus it's not like I'm planning on selling them _here_. The hulkmobile arrived today, so we'll just store 'em in there and then sell 'em later, somewhere else. Now are you gonna help me or not?"

Sean shook his head, but sighed.

"Alright man, but just so I can keep your ass outta trouble."

* * *

The temperature dropped as night fell over the desert but it wasn't enough to deter most of the racers from crowding into a half-destroyed storage facility to party. Sean arrived with Dom's crew, but then excused himself when his phone vibrated, signalling that Twinkie had texted him. Slipping out of the building, he made like he was heading back to the trailer before ducking off in the direction of market, where most of the wares were stored in the canvas booths that the vendors used to show off their latest products. Strolling down one of the aisles, he thought he saw a flash of color the same shade as Twinkie's shirt ahead of him, but was surprised when a hand reached out of the darkness and dragged him between two of the booths.

Opening his mouth to shout, he was cut-off when Twinkie pressed a finger to his own lips, silencing him and then motioned for him to follow, before disappearing further into the darkness.

They walked along a winding path, occasionally cutting through booths before they finally reached Twinkie's chosen target. Approaching the racks, Twinkie lifted two sets of tires down before motioning for Sean to do the same.

"C'mon man, we'll take these for now and then hit the next booth afterwards."

Sean grudgingly hoisted another set onto his shoulder and began to follow Twinkie back towards the trailer.

Suddenly, he heard the low purr of a motorcycle engine, a Yamaha YBR250 if he wasn't mistaken and then a blinding flash of light slashed across his vision, sending spots dancing in front of his eyes and causing him to drop the tires, as he threw up his arm to cover his eyes.

The engine stopped humming and he heard the crunch of boots against concrete coming closer to them. Twinkie's heavy breathing told Sean that the smaller boy hadn't bolted yet, but that whoever was approaching them had Twinkie scared, _really_ scared.

"Tyrell Pearce," the person chided. "I thought you were past this petty thievery crap. Y'know they call it an _honest_ days work for a reason..."

"Aw, c'mon," he heard Twinkie whine slightly. "How's a playa supposed to make money otherwise? I mean, I could be dealing drugs or somethi-"

"You're not that stupid," the voice cut him off. "Besides you know Rome would kick your ass if he heard you were trying to pull shit like that."

Sean's eyes were watering but he was finally able to blink away the spots that had been blurring his vision. Focusing on the source of the unknown voice, he blinked a few more times until their face came into view. The owner of the bike was a pretty Asian girl, with long bangs that fell into her eyes and dark hair that was tied into a bun beneath a bandanna. Tight black and green racing leathers clung to her slim frame and a pair of dark jeans hugged her long legs before disappearing into heavy boots.

Placing one hand on her hip, she raised an eyebrow in Twinkie's direction and stared him down.

"So what's it gonna be, Twinkie? Are you gonna put that stuff back or am I gonna have to kick your ass here and now?"

Twinkie stared at the ground, but Sean heard him mumbling under his breath.

"Damn Mac," the younger boy whined. "Why you always gotta bust my balls like this?"

"Now, Twinkie."

Twinkie collected the scattered tires and turned back in the direction they'd come from, Sean jogging quickly behind to keep up.

"So that's Mac? The girl that you said Han was in love with?"

"Yeah and if she's here, its not gonna end well..."

* * *


End file.
